A Very Kuro Christmas
by MissKiriChan
Summary: Now living in the xxxHolic universe, Kuro and Fai spend their Christmas Eve searching for Mokona  Soel  with the help of Doumeki, and wind up with two very special presents. KuroFai fluff and comedy, along with a dash of drama and a sprinkling of angst.


_Hello, and Merry Christmas everyone! This story is a surprise Christmas gift for my dear friend Faren (UnexpectedInspiration), and is filled with KuroFai fluff and Christmas cheer, along with appearances by the Mokonas and Doumeki. *wild applause*_

_I will probably come back and do some grammatical edits in the future (as I wrote this all out by hand in my notebook, and typed it up without many changes), but the story will remain the same._

_I hope that you enjoy it, and that it spreads a little bit of holiday cheer._

_Oh, and as always, the characters are not mine. ;)_

* * *

><p>He heard the loud crashing as the boxes fell to the floor. Okay, <em>pushed<em> to the floor. By him.

He pulled at the edges of his hair, trying to keep his anger in check.

He had been in this place for three years, and he _still_ couldn't seem to get the damn Christmas lights right. They were either tangled (even though he _swore_ he always put them away untangled), or one of the impossibly miniscule bulbs was out.

How the things managed to break while being safely tucked away for the better part of a year was beyond him. (Though he hadn't ruled out a conspiracy by the Christmas companies; those bastards would do anything for money.)

The worst part was that the things were too small for this hands, meaning he couldn't replace the bulbs himself. And that usually left only one option:

The mage.

He paced, kicking a box or two as he thought about asking the blonde for help. Maybe there was an alternative.

Doumeki?

He shook his head; no, the mage would still find out somehow.

One of the pork buns?

No-that would be even worse.

He could ask Watanuki, but even though the younger man was finally able to leave the shop, he was still struggling to adapt to the outside world. The last thing he wanted to deal with was one of Watanuki's panic attacks, much less the beating Doumeki was sure to try and give him for causing it.

Plus: how would he get the mage out of the house long enough for Watanuki to come over? Very little escaped the mage's notice. It was maddening: almost as if the man still had a few tricks up his sleeve despite giving up his magic.

There had to be _someone_ else he could ask. There had to be...

"What's wrong?"

Distracted, Kurogane responded without thinking.

"The Christmas lights broke again, and..."

The voice finished his sentence for him.

"And you don't want to ask me for help, do you?"

"Exactly. Wait..." Kurogane looked up from angrily eyeing the boxes on the floor to find a pair of familiar eyes dancing wickedly. He opened his mouth, but anything resembling words refused to come out.

The mage promptly sat on the floor and began checking the lights. Noticing that Kurogane was still speechless, the mage glanced up and said, "it's okay Kuro-pun; even big strong ninjas need help from us weaker folk from time to time." The mage laughed a little at his self-deprecation and continued to run his delicate hands across the lights.

Kurogane was not amused.

He growled back, "you're not _weak_. And if you call me a ninja one more time..."

"But you _are_ a ninja, Kuro-puppy," the mage responded happily. Kurogane snorted.

"Yeah-a ninja that uses his sword skills to chop up overpriced raw fish for rich tourists who..."

"It's called sushi, remember? And if I recall correctly, who was it that chose to work for a hotel restaurant instead of Japanese restaurant?"

Kurogane kept silent. He had chosen the job as head sushi chef at one of Japan's top tourist hotels over a prestigious Japanese restaurant for the added health insurance.

The years of abuse the mage had put himself through had finally caught up with him, and he required medical treatments that were above and beyond what Kurogane could have afforded working at the restaurant, despite its prestigious reputation.

Not that it would have stopped Kurogane from making sure the mage was taken care of, no matter how many jobs it took. But at least with the hotel he had set hours, and could be at home more to keep an eye on the troublesome bastard.

While Kurogane was sure that the mage already knew most of this, there was no need to say anything out loud, so he answered with a non-committal noise instead.

"Pfft. Those tourists are just easy to impress. They 'ohh' and 'ahh' at the simplest of knife tricks."

"I wouldn't call them 'simple' Kuro-pooch. After all, how many sushi chefs can claim to have been trained in Edo-style swordsmanship _in_ the Edo-period?" He cast a searching look at Kurogane. "And I'm sure that arm certainly adds to the novelty."

Kurogane rubbed the metallic limb instinctively, sometimes forgetting it wasn't his real arm.

Doing a kind of drum roll on his slender thighs, the mage continued happily, "and, let's not forget the other reason... because you're a_ ninja_!" He said the word 'ninja' with a distinctly Asian flair.

Kurogane grimaced, feeling his already close-to-bursting anger rise to the surface.

"I'm _not_ a fucking ninja anymore, okay?" he said, a little more loudly than he meant to.

The mage winced visibly, but put on a falsely cheery smile and said, "well, you'll always be _my_ ninja, Kuro-pi-pi." The false smile remained but the mage became noticeably distant.

And... now he felt bad. Damn. Why did the skinny bastard always have to make his chest feel like it was being sliced open? He must be getting soft. He needed to go drinking with Doumeki again to talk about manly things. Like sports and stuff.

In regards to sports, Kurogane had become especially fond of watching sumo on TV. And listening to something called 'death metal.'

He also liked the illustrated stories called 'manga,' but he had come to find that talking about his fondness for these stories was not seen as very manly. He could still talk to some people about them without fear-mainly the younger members of his staff at work-but he avoided it when talking to people his age or older.

He didn't understand what these people had against 'manga,' but he figured it had something to do with them being cowards. After all, only cowards ran from battle-even if it was only an illustrated one.

He realized that he had gotten sidetracked and was about to apologize-begrudgingly-to the mage when he heard the man ask, timidly, "do you regret it Kurogane? Choosing this life, I mean?"

The mage didn't look up after finishing his questioning. He suddenly became very focused on the lights in from of him.

Kurogane crossed his arms. "Of course not."

He didn't even need to consider what the mage was asking. They did what had needed to be done. There was no point in thinking about 'what could-have-been' or wishing for something different.

"You really mean that, don't you?" the mage said softly.

The wall between them seemed to melt with those words, and the blonde let out a little laugh that sounded strangely like the swaying of small bells in the wind.

"You're so un-complicated Kuro-pu! How I wish I could be more like you."

He went back to sorting the lights, humming a little tune to himself. Kurogane was sure that it was one of those holiday songs-a 'Christmas carol-about a fat man and reindeer.

With one last look at the mage and his mass of unruly blonde hair, he walked into the kitchen, looking for the pork bun.

While she now spent most of her time at the shop to be with the other fluff ball, she always spent Saturday evenings and Sundays with them.

Though she should have been here by now, either brought by Doumeki, or, having stealthily avoided the eyes of onlookers, arrived by herself.

Had someone spotted her?

Kurogane tried not to panic, but she was almost an hour late. For whatever other faults she might have, the bun was always punctual.

He walked up and down the kitchen, thinking. Should he go to the shop? Go out looking for her? And if he did, how would he ask if anyone had seen her? People in this world seemed to think she was something called a 'stuffed animal.' No one would take him seriously.

He continued to pace when his eyes fell on a shiny object next to their calendar.

The phone.

Kurogane considered himself a brave man, and could never be accused of backing down from a fight, but he and the phone were sworn enemies. The damn thing ensured that anyone could reach him-anyone-at any hour of the day or night.

It was also uncomfortable to only hear people's voices. He was trained to look at people-see what they _weren't_ saying-to discern the truth. The phone didn't let him do that.

Besides, it was incredibly awkward.

He knew that communication wasn't one of his strong points, but _damn_ did the phone make it that much more obvious.

Still, this could be a matter of life and death.

He straightened his stance and walked over to the phone. He _could_ do this. He _would_ do this.

He quickly punched in the number he had burned into his memory for cases like this. The phone rang twice before the familiar voice answered with a deep, "hello?"

"It's Kurogane."

"Hello."

Kurogane immediately felt better. If he was worried about his etiquette on the phone, he was comforted by the fact that Doumeki's was even worse.

"Haveyouseentheporkbun?" The words came out in a rush.

"Which one?" Coming from someone other than Doumeki, Kurogane would have thought the person was being a smart-ass. But, as it was Doumeki, he knew that there was no smartassery intended.

"White pork... I mean, Soel." He still couldn't get used to the buns' proper name, and only used it in cases like this.

"No... she left almost two hours ago." Kurogane could hear the concern in Doumeki's voice, unwavering as it was.

"Damn." The panic was not reaching a fever-pitch.

"I'll be right there." With that, Kurogane heard the dial tone. The mage, having horrible timing like usual, chose that moment to enter the kitchen.

"Kuro-puff using the phone? My, this is a rare surprise."

Kurogane didn't want to scare the mage, but this was no time for games.

"The pork bun is missing."

He saw the blonde's head swing toward the clock and watched as his expression grew dim.

"Doumeki's coming them?"

Kurogane nodded.

"Then I'll get my coat..."

"No-you're staying here." It came out more harshly than he intended, but it was important that the mage knew he meant business.

"I most certainly am not." The mage straightened to his full height-by no means unremarkable-and looked Kurogane in the eye.

"If you're going to try and pull some crap like 'someone needs to be here when she gets home,' save it: she knows her way in, and she knows how to use the phone. I am coming with you, and there is nothing you _or_ Doumeki can do about it."

He stomped out of the room without waiting for a response from Kurogane. Judging by the direction of his footsteps, he was definitely heading for the coat closet.

Kurogane wasn't sure what would be worse on the mage-the cold, or having to wait here, alone, not knowing what had happened to the fluff ball.

While the doctors might have said 'the cold,' Kurogane never underestimated the damage of stress and fear. He was fairly certain those things were responsible for most of the mage's health problems, and he certainly wasn't going to add to them if he could help it.

The blonde reappeared a few minutes later, sporting a long trench coat in a soft shade of tawny brown.

For a moment, Kurogane found himself missing the pale clothing the mage had worn when they first met. At first, he had thought the clothing was stupid, but they, like the mage, had grown on him.

Though he would never admit it, of course. The last thing he needed was for the mage to go on a shopping spree for clothes similar to those of his home world.

He continued to watch as the mage donned a pair of dark brown gloves and a fluffy cream scarf.

"Hat," he said automatically, mesmerized for some reason by the fluid movements of the willowy man in front of him.

The blonde made a pouty face.

"Now, mage."

The man finally did as he was asked, still pouting.

The blonde's aversion to hats was no secret, having become accustomed to a hood for most of his life. But, as he and Kurogane had quickly discovered, wearing a long coat with a hood in this Japan was a good way to get the wrong kind of attention.

When the mage had worn a hooded trench coat the last time they had gone into the city, some people had thought the mage was a thief, while others asked for pictures, thinking he was 'cosplaying' a character from some video game about an assassin.

After Kurogane had screamed "no pictures!" at some teenager for the dozenth time, he had enlisted a no-hood policy for the mage. The blonde had sulked for days, but had mysteriously let the issue drop after a visit from the black pork bun.

Newly-hatted, the mage re-entered the room at the same moment the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," he said, turning toward the door.

But before Kurogane could take a step, he felt a sleeve touch his arm as a blur of light brown edged past him, beating him to the door.

Before he had a chance to protest, the mage was already opening the door, revealing a coatless Doumeki.

Instead of a 'hello,' or 'thanks for coming,' the mage instead greeted Doumeki by asking "where is your coat, Doumeki?" in an incredulous tone.

"I left right away," Doumeki responded, as if it was a perfectly acceptable answer to the question.

"Well I'm not letting you leave like that," the mage said, going into what could only be described as 'mother-mode.'

"You wait here and I'll get you a coat and pair of gloves. Then we'll leave."

His statement finished, Kurogane once again saw a blur of tawny brown rush past him as the mage headed for the coat closet.

By the time Kurogane had invited Doumeki in, the mage had reappeared with two coats and two sets of gloves.

Doumeki gave a small incline of his head as thanks while Kurogane quickly grabbed the black leather jacket and gloves, being mindful of his prosthetic arm as he put them on.

When the coat and gloves were fitted snugly around him, he said "let's go" to his companions. They both nodded, following Kurogane purposefully as he headed toward the door.

-000-

They walked out to the street and saw the brightly lit city in the distance. As much as he hated the noise of the city, Kurogane had to admit that it was captivating at night, even more so with the ornate Christmas decorations that he could spot twinkling throughout the mismatched buildings.

As they re-traced the route that the bun would have taken, Doumeki filled them in on what had happened when the pork bun had left the shop.

"I offered to go with her," Doumeki said, his breath making little puffs in the cold night air. "But she refused."

The mage wrapped his scarf more tightly around himself as Doumeki continued.

"I planned to go with her anyways-or follow her, at the very least-but Larg got in the way."

"Got in the way?" the mage asked questioningly.

Doumeki gave a nod. "Flailing in front of me about food and sake."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Kurogane couldn't help but snort, adding, "so the usual, then?"

Doumeki shrugged, saying, "by the time I was able to get past him, Soel was gone."

They walked in silence for a few minutes, each of them thinking about what Doumeki had said.

He wasn't sure why, but something about the whole thing felt _wrong_ to Kurogane-like something was off. While the black bun wanting sake and snacks was nothing new, he knew that even the bun-ravenous as he was-wouldn't put food over the safety of the other butterball.

Before he could say this out loud, he heard the mage utter a soft, "oh no..."

When Kurogane saw what the mage was looking at, he felt his stomach drop.

There was a Christmas festival smack-dab in the middle of the route the bun took to their house. If she hadn't been paying attention...

Kurogane immediately leapt into action, barking out orders.

"Split up. Search the stalls. Say your niece lost her favorite stuffed animal. Ask them if they've seen it."

Doumeki and the mage nodded gravely. They each walked toward a different section of the festival, approaching each stall as they went.

It wasn't as if the bun hadn't been seen by other people before. But she was usually with one of them, and they could either hide her, or explain her away as one of those 'talking toys for kids.' But her flying-well, more like floating-was a different matter entirely. No matter how teach-savvy the person, no one would believe that a toy like the pork bun could fly. And if someone had seen her...

No, he had to focus. He had to find some kind of clue about what to do next.

-000-

It had been nearly an hour with nothing but strange looks from stall-owners and festival goers alike when he asked about his 'niece's' stuffed animal. Just as he was about to head for the last row of stalls in his section, Doumeki walked purposely toward him, composed, but slightly out of breath.

"Got a call from Watanuki... Larg is missing now too."

Kurogane took the older-younger?-man's shoulder (he still wasn't sure how the whole ageing process worked when world-hopping) and asked, a little more roughly than needed "does Watanuki know where he went?"

Doumeki shook his head. Kurogane dropped his hand from the muscular shoulder.

"Damn." He felt ready to punch the next person to look at him the wrong way when Doumeki spoke again.

"Though..."

"Though?" Kurogane echoed, trying to not sound impatient.

"They're connected, aren't they? If Soel called out for help, Larg..."

Kurogane interrupted him by snapping the fingers of his good arm.

"That must be it. Damn buns. Why didn't they let us know? I swear that after this they're getting tracking collars or something."

If he hadn't known better, Kurogane could have sworn that Doumeki's mouth moved upward slightly.

"Should I go get Fai?" Doumeki asked, his expression now blank like usual.

"Yeah. But make him buy something warm to drink, okay? Last thing I want is for him to spend the next week or two in the hospital."

Doumeki nodded and walked away briskly, holding his phone to his ear. Probably calling the mage to find out where he was. Tch.

While he wouldn't deny the usefulness of phones, he had the feeling that they had made people impatient and lazy.

After all, he had lived without a phone until three years ago, and he found himself to be incredibly patient.

-000-

Doumeki and the mage returned shortly, carrying three drinks between them.

"Here Kuro-pu!" the mage said happily. "I got you your favorite-hot chocolate!"

Kurogane growled and looked at the cheerfully decorated cup with loathing.

Before he had known better, he had been fooled into drinking a sip of hot chocolate by the mage when they had first arrived in this world. It had taken less than a second for him to realize that the drink contained milk-the most noxious substance in existence.

His Japan got on just fine without the colorless filth, and he didn't understand why this Japan couldn't do the same.

But then again… if he was honest with himself, despite all of the things that this modern Japan lacked, it also had some good things too.

While he would rather slice off his arm (again) before admitting it to the mage, this 'Christmas season' as they called it, was actually kind of nice. While it wasn't the same as the festivals and celebrations he was used to, there was something about it that made him feel almost feel _cheerful_.

Ugh. He _had_ been spending too much time around the mage and the fluff buns. Here he was, using words like 'cheerful.'

The mage poked him on the forehead, instantly silencing his thoughts.

"Why the furrowed brow Daddy?" He said it in such a playful tone that people were bound to get the wrong idea. Feeling heat rise to his cheeks despite the bitter cold, Kurogane responded before he could stop himself.

"Don't call me Daddy you bastard!"

More than a few passersby gave them a wide berth as they walked toward the brightly colored stalls and Kurogane half-expected someone to ask them to leave. When nearly a minute passed without anything more than a few curious looks thrown their his direction, he turned his attention to Doumeki to avoid looking at the mage.

"Here," Doumeki said calmly, no doubt trying to dispel the tension. "We actually got you a warm sake, but Fai thought it would be amusing to…"

Kurogane cut him off before he could finish. "It's fine. I'll just ration his TV time."

"Noooo!" the mage shouted in mock-horror. "Not my shows! I need to find out what happens in this week's episode of _Lonely Hearts_…"

"Serves you right," Kurogane said with conviction, though he was only half-serious.

"Well, let's get going then," the mage said brightly. "'Onward ho!' And all that." He began marching toward the entrance of the festival, not bothering to see if Kurogane and Doumeki were following him.

Kurogane and Doumeki exchanged a knowing look. Even though the mage would pay for this little excursion over the next week by being laid up in bed, he was feeling exuberant due to the adrenaline brought on by fear, and the small taste of freedom at being outside the house.

Because of his health the mage didn't get out of the house much, unless it was to see one doctor or another, or to visit Watanuki and the buns at the shop.

But Kurogane wouldn't even describe the mage as being 'ill' really: he was simply frail. He had this delicate frailty that needed to be protected. The only thing that scared Kurogane-really scared him-is that he would squeeze too hard, take care of the mage _too_ much, and he would shatter.

He tried not to think about it, but it was times like this that concern for the mage was at the forefront of his mind.

Because even though the mage was trying to hide it-even now forging on ahead of him and Doumeki, singing off-key Christmas carols at the top of his lungs-Kurogane knew that the man was terrified.

They needed to find the pork buns not just for their sake, but for the mage's sake as well.

-000-

They continued to walk the route that the white bun would have taken. They traced and re-traced, until Kurogane was sure that he would be able to walk the route blindfolded.

He looked at his watch and felt a small twinge of despair. It was getting late, and it had been hours since they had started their search.

Kurogane stopped to lean against the opening of an alleyway and collect his thoughts. He told himself that he was just tired, and that a few minutes of rest would…

He strained his ears, sure that he had just heard an annoyingly high-pitched voice coming from inside the alleyway. Could it be?

Without saying anything to his companions, he bolted down the alleyway, crying out "pork buns!" as he passed trashcans and other substances that must have once resembled something other than glop.

The voice became louder the farther he ran down the alley.

"Good kitty…" the high-pitched voice said.

A cat?

Kurogane sped up, sure that the buns must have been injured to be taken down by something like a cat.

He was ready to grab the offending feline by its tail when he finally caught sight of the white butterball. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Good kitty" the white bun repeated. "Don't you look splendid! What do you think Larg, did I get the bow right?" There was a brief pause as the second bun looked at the cat.

"Looks good to me!" He clapped his tiny hands together and added, "this is going to be _awesome_."

It was at that moment Kurogane chose to step forward.

"_What_ will be awesome?" he said in the most menacing voice he could muster through the sheer relief of finding them.

"Uh oh," the dark bun said, looking up at Kurogane. The white bun kept a hold on the cat by clutching the satin ribbon around its neck, looking as if she was ready to start crying at any moment.

He was going to try and keep the flood of tears at bay when the mage and Doumeki appeared behind him. At seeing all three of them together, the white bun burst into tears. Kurogane didn't deal well with tears and glared at the men behind him.

"No! Now it's ruu-iinnn-eedd!" she cried, dripping large sloppy tears onto the dirty ground of the alleyway. The dark bun walked over and put one of his ears around her comfortingly.

"There there," he said soothingly. "It might not have been the surprise we planned, but it's still a surprise, right?"

The white bun stood still for a moment, considering this statement. She finally nodded, and the tears seemed to become less… drippy.

"Now," Kurogane began, "why don't you two explain…"

The black bun puts up its arm as if to silence him.

"Wait a second Kurogane… you and Fai need to close your eyes. We have a surprise for you."

"Okay," the mage said obediently.

"Hey!" Kurogane barked, looking back to see that the mage already had his eyes closed.

He looked at the buns and noticed that the white bun was close to tears again after his outburst. Damn.

"Fine," he said, doing his best to sound gracious. "But don't think this means you're not in trouble."

He closed his eyes, having an inkling about what they were going to 'surprise' him and the mage with.

There were quite a few grunts from the pork balls in the following minutes, almost as if they were trying to push something heavy. They finally called out to Doumeki for help, who Kurogane heard walking toward them.

"Okay," the buns said in unison a moment later. "Open your eyes for a big surprise and have a very merry… uh, EARLY CHRISTMAS!" they shouted, stumbling over their words at the end.

Kurogane opened his eyes to find eight pairs of eyes looking up at him. Four were from the buns, two from the cat, and two from what he could only guess was a dog, though it was so fluffy he could barely tell it was alive, much less what kind of creature it was.

"Hooray!" The mage cried, throwing his arms up in the air for no apparent reason.

While the idiot chatted excitedly with the fluff balls, Kurogane looked at the animals in front of him.

The dog was as dumb as a bag of hair, he could tell that just by looking at its glazed expression. No wonder the pork buns had needed Doumeki's help in moving it from wherever they had been hiding it. But the cat… the cat, on the other hand, seemed to have an acute kind of intelligence lurking behind its green eyes.

It was all black, except for a small white marking in what seemed to be the shape of a sword.

No such thing as coincidence, huh?

He caught the part of the conversation where the pork balls said, "the cat's for you, and the dog's for Kurogane!"

"Nope," he responded, striding toward them. "Cat's mine, dog's his." He glanced back at the mage and said, "the mutt even looks like you: its hair is all fluffy and shit."

Did he just hear Doumeki stifle a giggle? If so, he was promptly going to forget it.

"That's fine with me," the mage answered contentedly. "I'm good with dogs; I live with you, after all."

Kurogane _knew_ that was meant as an insult, but he let it pass. He was too interested in the cat-his cat-to care.

He held out his hand to the cat, letting it know he respected it. The cat looked at him for a moment before getting up and moving toward him stealthily.

It lay down in front of him and proceeded to show him its belly-the ultimate sign of trust from a cat.

He rubbed the smooth fur, thinking of the small sword-shaped mark it bore.

The mage was happily playing with the mutt, already telling it what a good dog it was. Tch. His cat was _way_ better.

However, the mage did voice the question that was also on his mind.

"Where did you find them?" he asked, letting the disgusting mutt lick the side of his smooth cheek.

"The street," the black bun answered.

"They were all alone…" the white bun said. "It was so sad Fai. We just _knew_ that you and Kurogane would give them a good home."

Kurogane stood up, the cat resting contentedly in his arms.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this, but you both did good." He stroked the cat without thinking about it as he spoke.

The mage chimed in, still letting the stupid mutt climb all over him, and said, "though next time, _please_ don't make us worry again, okay?"

The buns nodded, their ears flapping happily.

-000-

It was decided that the pork balls and Doumeki would spend the night, since it was already late and getting colder by the minute.

The mutt, of course, peed on the floor as soon as it got inside, which the mage just laughed off as the buns helped him clean up the mess.

Doumeki, one of the only _useful_ people in the room, helped Kurogane finish putting up the Christmas decorations while the cat looked on, perched contentedly on the edge of the couch.

By the time three a.m. had rolled around, the tree was glistening with various orbs and baubles, and green garlands with red velvet bows flounced across the walls and hung from the edges of every counter and tabletop.

The stockings-which they would need to get more of, now that they had his cat and the mutt to think about-hung on the wall nearest the kitchen, almost daring onlookers to try and escape their tidings of holiday cheer.

When they turned out the lights and turned on the Christmas tree, the darkness was pierced by a rainbow of riotous color. The buns and the mage made little 'ohh' and 'ahh' sounds while the mutt chased its tail around excitedly.

His cat, seeming to approve of the tree, curled underneath its branches and promptly fell asleep.

-000-

When Doumeki and the butter buns had been safely escorted to the guest room for the evening, Kurogane couldn't help but take another look at the tree.

He stood there looking at it for a few minutes, allowing the memories that he usually kept safely locked away to pass over him.

He thought of his family, and how they would have felt seeing this. He thought of Tomoyo, and how her eyes would light up with delight at seeing the symphony of lights intertwined in the green braches. And finally, he thought of the kids, and wondered if they were doing something like this in their world right now…

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Kurogane nearly jumped; he was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the mage leaning against the opening of the hallway.

For some reason his throat felt very dry as the mage sauntered toward him.

"Well, it seems that we're officially parents now, Kuro-pu."

"Tch. You mean _I'm _a parent." He looked down at his cat who was still curled up contentedly under the tree. "I don't think you _can_ be a parent to that mutt. It doesn't seem smart enough to recognize its own _tail_, much less realize it has a parent."

"_It_ is a he, thank you very much, and I find him to be quite intelligent."

At this, Kurogane laughed out loud. He just couldn't help it. The mutt looked so damn goofy that the thought of it being 'intelligent' was so absolutely ridiculous and absurd that…

"So you admit it then; that you're a parent?" the mage asked, looking down at the cat. Kurogane stopped laughing and thought for a moment.

"Yeah, I guess so. I mean, in the loose sense of the word."

"My my my…" the mage answered, doing a kind of twirl as he circled Kurogane. "My little Kuro-pi is all grown up now and is passing on his rugged good looks to his offspring."

"Did you just insult my cat?"

The mage continued, undeterred by the question. "If only you could pass on those _ninja_ skills of yours…"

"Watch it, mage."

The man stopped twirling and stood in front of him, his tone suddenly serious.

"I'm not a _mage _anymore, remember?"

Realization hit Kurogane full in the face, and he found himself stumbling over his words.

"But… you're just _the mage_. What else do I call you?"

The blonde stepped closer, getting maddeningly close to his face, and whispered, "how about Fai?"

Kurogane could hear his heart pounding in his ears and gave thanks to whatever gods existed when the mage finally stepped backward and turned toward the Christmas tree.

He felt _shaky_ for some reason, and it carried over to his voice when he answered, "um… okay. I'll… I'll try."

The mage turned back to look at him and smiled brightly. "That would be wonderful, Kuro-pu!"

"Hey, why do _you_ get to call _me_ nicknames?"

"Because," the mage, uh, _man_ answered. "My nicknames for you aren't connected to anything you used to be, and are therefore okay to use."

God the bastard was annoying as ever. Why had he been so worked up over an asshole like this a minute ago?

He responded, hearing the familiar growl enter his voice. "So does that mean I can make up nicknames for you too? Like blondie, or twig, or…"

The man just laughed and said, "whatever floats your boat, Kuro-puppy!"

"Hmph."

He looked over at the man, who was now quietly gazing at the Christmas tree, a far-off look in his eyes. Maybe he was thinking about the kids too.

He continued to stare as the lights reflected off the man's golden hair, making strange formations whenever he moved his head, almost as if the light was rushing through his hair like water.

He had become lost in the light patterns when the mage spoke.

"Kurogane?"

"Hmm?" he answered, mildly interested at the use of his real name.

"Thank you. For this; for everything, I mean."

He stared at the man and said, loudly, "you damn bastard, why do you have to go and be serious out of nowhere?"

The man gave him a tired smile and said, "because I'm a coward. That's all," and went back to gazing at the tree.

"Stupid blondie."

Before he realized what he was doing, he reached out until his hand found the slender palm of the mage and took the considerably smaller hand in his own.

"Just look at the lights, okay?" he said, surprised by the smoothness of the man's hand.

The man answered, almost in a whisper. "Okay."

They stood like that for a long time, feeling that everything had somehow changed for the better.

"Oh, and Kurogane?"

"Hmm?"

"Merry Christmas."

"You too, blondie."

* * *

><p>Merry Christmas my dear Faren, and Merry Christmas to all of you, and a lovely New Year!<p> 


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